[Rick Dickert]

I think that most of us will have occasion to connect up a battery tender or periodically charge our bike batteries. I had the experience of trying to access the battery on my Street 750 today, and found the process to be very complicated - just to even access the battery itself.

I'm a relatively mechanical person, so I was surprised at the complexity. Has anyone found a good way to quickly access the battery (and terminals) on this bike, or is this just a matter of design?

Curious for feedback - thanks

 

[bbally]

I access it once and put one of these in and run it to the section under the seat.

 

[PatLav]

I access it once and put one of these in and run it to the section under the seat.

My bike came with one of those wiring harnesses instaled. I have a battery tender hooked up to it now.

 

[PatLav]

I bought this tender, Black & Decker BM3B 6V and 12V Battery Charger / Maintainer, $19.95 on Amazon.

 

[StoneFree]

I think that most of us will have occasion to connect up a battery tender or periodically charge our bike batteries. I had the experience of trying to access the battery on my Street 750 today, and found the process to be very complicated - just to even access the battery itself.

I'm a relatively mechanical person, so I was surprised at the complexity. Has anyone found a good way to quickly access the battery (and terminals) on this bike, or is this just a matter of design?

Curious for feedback - thanks

There isn't an "easy access" to the battery as H-D literally buried the battery as you found out. In purchasing a Street I would require the dealer to put in the pigtail for a battery tender (my dealer does it automatically on all new Harleys). On our chopper and bobber rigid frame designs we're addressing this problem and moving the battery down (where the swing arm is on the stock Street motorcycles) to provide easy access.

Of note to any "newbies" always keep your motorcycle on a battery tender when not in use even if it's just over night. It can increase the life of the battery by about 3-times what it will be if you don't do this. The batteries aren't cheap and they're going go be a pain in the rear to replace or cost a lot if you have the dealer do it.

 

[Beauty and the Beast]

Of note to any "newbies" always keep your motorcycle on a battery tender when not in use even if it's just over night. It can increase the life of the battery by about 3-times what it will be if you don't do this. The batteries aren't cheap and they're going go be a pain in the rear to replace or cost a lot if you have the dealer do it.

Thank you for this information, I did not know that my bike should be on a tender when not in use. This will be fixed today.

 

[harleyhoonigan]

Good call on mentioning the pig tail, it's also a great thing that your dealer already does it, which goes to show how good of a dealer they are to be doing that.

 

[StoneFree]

Good call on mentioning the pig tail, it's also a great thing that your dealer already does it, which goes to show how good of a dealer they are to be doing that.

Ironically while my dealer does add the tender pigtail to all new motorcycles as a matter of course they didn't do it on my Street 750 because they knew I was going to tear it apart for my chopper project anyway. I guess I was special. LOL

 

[HDGuy]

I bought this tender, Black & Decker BM3B 6V and 12V Battery Charger / Maintainer, $19.95 on Amazon.

Nice!
How are you liking it so far?

I'm thinking about getting a Cteck battery charger after seeing how well their brand seems to be doing among the industry.

 

[PatLav]

Nice!
How are you liking it so far?

I'm thinking about getting a Cteck battery charger after seeing how well their brand seems to be doing among the industry.

I have 2 of the Black & Decker BM3B 6V and 12V Battery Charger / Maintainers, one on the motorcycle and one on the convertible, they work great.

 

[vernonfdo]

I have 2 of the Black & Decker BM3B 6V and 12V Battery Charger / Maintainers, one on the motorcycle and one on the convertible, they work great.

hi, can this model be used for the street 750 without a problem

 

[PatLav]

hi, can this model be used for the street 750 without a problem

Absolutely!

 

[tonytovar]

I have 2 of the Black & Decker BM3B 6V and 12V Battery Charger / Maintainers, one on the motorcycle and one on the convertible, they work great.

Hey PatLav,

I'm completely new to this whole moto thing. In fact, just finished my class a few days ago and my used Harley Davidson Street 500 came in over the weekend.

I'm saw one of these on the bike:

How would I use a battery tender? Would i just plug it in every day I get the bike into the garage? What if I don't use the bike for days, is there a max period the batter should be hooked up like that?

Thank you in advance for any guidance you may have.

Regards,
Tony

 

[Sh4dowzJudgment]

Only time you REALLY need a battery tender if the bike is going to sit for an extended period of time (over a week) or any duration in temps under 35 degrees. So basically only when you store the bike for the winter. A battery tender hooks right up to it. As for a max period of time, there isnt one I don't think. All a battery tender does is makes sure the battery stays at a certain voltage.

 

[Obtuse]

I have owned bikes since my teens. Cars too. I have never used a battery tender on any of them. I agree, if your battery is going to sit for months, or in very cold conditions, it would be a good idea to use a tender. Another reason I have heard is that using a tender will increase the life of the battery. I have not seen any data to back up this claim, might be hype to help sell tenders, I really don't know.

 

[Static07]

I've heard of guys keeping it on a tender daily if they only ride a mile or so a day to work and it never gets a good charge from the system while riding. I have no place to plug a tender in at our current place but I ride enough daily that I don't think it's an issue.

When we lived in MN I would remove batteries from the bike, boat, motorhome and riding mower and bring them in for the winter. I had a shelf in the storage room in the house where I rotated which battery was being maintained every couple weeks to keep them warm and charged all winter. With cold like that, it kills batteries fast.

 

[JONBERG]

@ Static07,


"When we lived in MN I would remove batteries from the bike.............................."


Have you checked out the ordeal one must go through to remove the battery on a "Street" ? To everybody: My experience with battery tenders has always been positive and the nominal cost of such is well worth it. If you have a Street it may have a pigtail pre installed. Thanks to this thread I checked out my bike and low and behold there it was, almost hidden below the left side panel instead of dangling below the seat, in plain sight, as on some of my previous bikes. My dealer never mentioned it. There are probably less expensive ones but I plan to buy a Harley tender @ about $40.00 soon.

 

[Solo750owner]

I agree with Stonefree. I have a battery tender on my Suzuki Savage on the same battery that came with bike used for the last 4 years. Im a big believer in using a battery tender when im not riding and the bike is in my garage.

 

[Static07]

When I picked up my bike from the dealer they had it on a tender and the pigtail was installed. I've heard the battery is almost impossible to get to. But I now live in Southern California, so I'm not too worried about cold killing my battery!

Nothing here like the -35f in the winter in MN!

 

[Baked]

A friend picked up a 750 and forget to request the pigtail to be installed. Does anyone have any pics or some guidance on how to get to the battery. I quickly pulled the side covers and it looks like a small nightmare to access it. Thanks.